The multifunctionality of the Serengeti ecosystem is evident in the range of ecological, economic and socio-cultural goods and services across the landscape and the many institutions designed to manage these functions. Navigating the institutional complexity with respect to wildlife, land and local community rights in Tanzania remains a huge challenge. Most of the relevant policies recognize the linkages between functions and institutions, but they are still, for the most part, sector oriented with no clearly defined mechanisms for collaboration with other sectors or stakeholders. As a result the existing institutions tend to guard the ecosystem’s functions only partially or selectively. In some cases, local institutions – both formal (e.g. police, judiciary, rural development authorities) and informal (e.g. social norms and customs) – exist but are not being used effectively and, in the case of local informal rules, may be eroding over time.
